For those who might have missed it, Monday's issue of the News-Journal included a story about the Kentucky Supreme Court's ruling on two lawsuits - one filed in 2003 and the other in 2004.

The lawsuits, filed by Taylor County resident Katherine Moss against both Campbellsville Independent and Taylor County school systems, were settled and dismissed in 2007 - but the terms of the settlement were kept secret.

Whether it's through a parent, a spouse, a child, a grandparent, a friend or even ourselves, cancer will reach out its deadly hand and touch us all. And that's why we should all be concerned with research into its cure.

What could have once killed us, is now treatable, thanks to research.

And that's what gives us hope.

As the second leading cause of the death in the United States, cancer will affect all too many of us. We each have a risk - experts say half of all men and a third of all women will be diagnosed with some form of the disease.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. Those are the code words these days. With the push in recent years to "go green" in order to save the nation's vital natural resources for generations to come, it's time we all started taking at least small steps to help the environment.

And some have found it's not quite as hard as it might seem.

If you don't already know, both the City of Campbellsville and Waste Management have recycling bins available.

Chartered by Congress in March 1950, Girl Scouts of the USA is the world's top organization dedicated solely to girls where all are accepted and nurtured and taught the skills to build character and reach success in the real world.

With the help of committed adult volunteers, girls develop qualities that will serve them all their lives, like leadership, strong values, social conscience, and conviction about their own potential and self-worth.

We've known for years that our community is made up of residents who care about others.

From the various school and sports fundraisers our children participate in to community events such as Relay for Life and Crusade for Children, local residents never hesitate to dig deep into their pockets for others.

And when there's not enough money to spare, our residents give of their time.

With the devastating earthquake in Haiti, several local groups are spearheading donation drives to help victims. See the story on today's front page about what you can do to help.

Many little girls grow up dreaming of a chance to participate in the annual Junior Miss program. And that dream came true for one local young woman this year.

MeLeigha Pollock will represent Taylor County at the state competition this weekend in Lexington.

MeLeigha will put her best foot forward and do an outstanding job, as have all those who have gone before her. She will participate this weekend in the talent, self-expression, fitness, judges' interview and scholastics preliminaries, with the finals set for Saturday evening.

It's unfortunate, but there will always be people who believe they're entitled to something for nothing - and that something may be yours.

In the past, we've passed along tips from local law enforcement officials on how to keep our Christmas safe from the ultimate Grinch. And with the struggling economy, there could be even more thieves prowling our neighborhoods at night.

Most thefts and burglaries occur between December and February, according to Campbellsville Police Chief Dennis Benningfield. And because of that, we should all be a little more careful.

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

If you've been having trouble getting into the holiday spirit, this past weekend was made just for you. And there's plenty more to come in the next few weeks.

From the live nativity scene at Miller Park - and the accompanying Christmas music at the amphitheater, Saturday's Christmas parade and Sunday's Campbellsville Woman's Club Christmas Home Tour to the concerts over the weekend - and yet to come - at Campbellsville University, there were plenty of opportunities for entertainment.

The Central Kentucky News-Journal will celebrate its 100th birthday this year. In almost 10 decades of service, the newspaper has moved from newcomer to welcomed friend. With a close eye on serving our community, the paper has become a healthy business interest and we owe much of it to our faithful readers.

Much has changed in the past 100 years and as we prepare to head into a new year, you will notice one obvious change on the front page of today's issue.

After competing in numerous national tournaments in many sports in its storied history, Campbellsville University claimed the school's first national team championship when the Lady Tigers captured the National Christian College Athletic Association Volleyball Tournament on Saturday in Kissimmee, Fla.

Coach Randy LeBleu's squad won all six matches in the three-day tourney to bring home the top hardware.

The war in Afghanistan isn't going well. The economic recovery isn't producing many new jobs. The banks that pushed the nation to the brink of a 1930s-style Depression with their reckless ways - having sucked up billions of taxpayer dollars in rescue money - are resuming those reckless ways. There isn't enough swine flu vaccine to go around.

And now for some bad news:

Nielsen, the company that clocks television viewing in this country, has found that children between the ages of 2 and 5 are watching an average of 25 hours of television each week.